Cupcakes
by melbelle310
Summary: It’s Kelsi’s eighteenth birthday, and her friends won’t let her forget it. What happens when Ryan pulls them all together to plan a surprisingly simple celebration? And where will his messages lead her in the end?


Cupcakes

**Authors Note: **Thanks to Rebecca, who shared her cupcakes with our math class on her birthday, inspiring this one-shot. Special shout-out to Simone and Stefani-my beta readers! Lots of love to Kayla and Kelly, who insisted on reading this. It's fluffy, but there's plot, and a few of the memories Kelsi mentions might become drabbles depending on how I'm feeling over the holidays. Ryelsi, because I can't seem to write anything else anymore.

**Summary: **It's Kelsi's eighteenth birthday, and her friends won't let her forget it. What happens when Ryan pulls them all together to plan a surprisingly simple celebration? And where will his messages lead her in the end?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any aspect of the High School Musical franchise or 42nd Street.

Kelsi was mad. Actually, that's an understatement. Kelsi was _furious_.

From the time she was just a few months old, Kelsi hated being in the spotlight. At age 5, she refused to go onstage at her ballet recital. When she wrote her first composition at the age of seven, she let her mother record it-and then hid it from the rest of the world for all eternity. At 13, she declined her parents' offer for a big birthday party. Instead, she invited a few friends to a local production of '42nd Street,' creating her own birthday tradition. This year, however, her friends had other ideas.

Kelsi's day had started out as it usually did-in the music room. She wasn't too surprised when Gabriella joined her, followed by Taylor and Sharpay; all three stopped by about once a week to update her on the school gossip and to bother her about her crush on Ryan. On the other hand, she _was_surprised when she saw the balloons trailing behind Sharpay.

"No."

"But Kelsi, today's your eighteenth birthday," Gabriella complained.

"I understand that, but I'm not walking around with a bundle of balloons all day!" Kelsi insisted.

"Yes, you are," Sharpay ordered, putting her foot down; her tone implied that 'no' was definitely not an option. She tied the balloons to Kelsi's messenger bag, much to the smaller girl's dismay. A few squabbles later, the girls left the safety of the music room. Outside, Zeke waited with a platter of cupcakes. Vanilla with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles-Kelsi's favorite. Chad ran down the hall.

"Happy Birthday, Small Person!" he exclaimed while he was still 10 feet away. He pulled her into a massive bear hug. Everyone laughed as he put her feet back on the floor.

"This isn't fair-you guys ganged up on me," Kelsi complained, trying to disregard the stares coming from other students walking past. The first warning bell rang. Chad grabbed Kelsi's hat off her head and ran to Ms. Darbus' room. "Hey!" Kelsi exclaimed. "Chad!" Leaving her bag in the hallway with the Zeke and the girls, she wove through the crowd. Due to her small size, she was able to squeeze between students rapidly. Troy saw her quickly gaining on Chad and stepped in her path, hoping to give his teammate ample time to hide Kelsi's hat.

"Hey Playmaker. Where's your hat?" Troy asked, chuckling. He knew exactly where to find her hat, as his tone revealed to Kelsi.

"Your best friend stole it," she explained calmly, ignoring the smirk she could see threatening on his lips. The second bell rang, clearing the halls. The rest of their friends approached the pair, Kelsi's bag in hand. They slipped quietly into Ms. Darbus' room, grateful that the teacher had not yet started taking attendance. Ryan looked across the room and smiled at Kelsi.

'Happy Birthday Kels,' he mouthed to her. Kelsi blushed and sank lower in her chair. She had never noticed the nickname before. The loss of her hat had caused Kelsi to feel self-conscious, making her notice all the little quirks about her friends, including their various affectionate nicknames for her. Ryan noticed Kelsi's rosy cheeks and glanced at Chad. Kelsi's fedora perched precariously atop his backpack, almost guilting him into returning it to her. He scolded himself internally for considering abandoning his plan.

"May I please have my hat back?" Kelsi pleaded.

"Sorry Small Person," Chad apologized sincerely. As much as he hated to see his quasi little sister the least bit upset, he knew that he had no choice. Zeke glanced nervously at Ryan, who gave him a miniscule thumbs-up.

"Why don't you have a cupcake?" he suggested; he sounded too rehearsed. Kelsi's eyes narrowed suspiciously. She turned her head toward her desk but left her eyes trained on him until the very last second. Carefully, she lifted the plastic wrap off the box. Just as Ryan had predicted, she chose one and then held the box out to her friends and offered them cupcakes. When Ryan stayed in his seat, she stood up and carried the box to him.

If your crush doesn't come to the cupcakes, bring the cupcakes to your crush.

"Cupcake, Ryan?" she offered generously. He smiled, nodded, and looked down as if examining them. His smile grew once he noticed that his friends had followed his instructions to a tee.

The entire birthday celebration had been Ryan's plan, unbeknownst to Kelsi. He'd picked out her balloons, planned the hat-heist, and even helped make her cupcakes. In the pan, beneath the cupcakes, stood a message in green icing. His friends had selected strategic cupcakes, uncovering only the first part of the secret. After a show of careful deliberation, Ryan revealed the final word. As he had expected, Kelsi didn't notice.

"I got you something," he mentioned casually. Kelsi looked up at him and bit her lip. She almost had to avert her gaze from the intensity in his eyes. "Meet me at free period?" he checked. He didn't have to specify where-they only ever met in one place. She nodded.

The bell rang, and Chad mustered every ounce of speed from his years of basketball training to sprint away. Ryan had successfully separated Kelsi from her hat, as he had intended.

Before free period, Kelsi stopped at Gabriella's locker, going over a math problem. When she turned toward the music room, her hand moved to her hair subconsciously, as though fixing her hat. Gabriella rolled her eyes. She grabbed Kelsi's shoulder and pulled her to the bathroom, kicking her spotless locker shut in the meantime.

"If you're going to flirt with Ryan hatless, we may as well perfect your hair," she explained, already separating some of Kelsi's curls. Kelsi's jaw dropped. Gabriella looked at their reflections and giggled. "There's nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting, even with someone you try to deny having a crush on," she stated. Kelsi's jaw snapped shut silently.

By the time Kelsi reached the music room, Ryan was pacing. He stopped as soon as the door opened.

"Sorry I'm late," Kelsi apologized purely out of habit. "I got held up by Gabriella." Ryan gave no indication that he had heard. He merely held out a big blue bag with pretty, purple paper sticking out of the top. She reached in blindly. First, she pulled out a cardboard birthday hat. It looked oddly familiar, though she couldn't place where it was from.

"Your twelfth birthday party. The year I tripped and accidentally pushed you head-first into your cake," he filled in. She smiled, remembering the mess and the kiss he had placed on her cheek afterwards.

The second item Kelsi pulled out was a glittery red fedora. "Eighth grade talent show-the first time you let anyone perform one of your incredible compositions." Kelsi blushed, both from the compliment and from the memory; Ryan had hand-delivered flowers and a touching thank-you note after he and his sister had won the show. Kelsi moved to reach into the bag again, but Ryan grabbed her elbow before she could. His grip was gentle, yet firm. She turned her head; their eyes met for the second time that day. Ryan leaned forward and brushed his lips on the corner of her mouth. Kelsi sighed silently; she felt as though her whole body would melt into a puddle on the floor.

As sudden as the kiss had been there, it (and Ryan) was gone. Confused, Kelsi looked around the room. He had left a message on the whiteboard in the back corner.

"Defy the rules, defy expectations, defy gravity," she read aloud. He had said that to her over the summer, while they were writing 'Everyday' in the music room. If memory served her correctly, however, there had been two additional clauses. 'Defy my sister, defy me' had preceded the three points on the board. That particular day, Chad had stolen her hat, so Ryan had loaned her a spare. Working off a hunch, she reached into the bag and pulled out a plain black beret. With a relieved sigh, she placed it on her barren head, feeling more confident with a hat on securely.

Kelsi knew that Ryan was up to something, but she couldn't determine what it was. She thought about the other pieces of the message. Suddenly, she bolted up and ran out the door, her excitement beginning to build. She knew exactly where Ryan was leading her.

"I didn't think you'd be here so fast," Ryan chuckled as she burst into the auditorium. He sat in one of the aisle seats, waiting for her. The house lights were up, but the stage was dark.

"The first time I defied your sister was on this stage," she explained.

"I know I said it before, but congratulations on that. Between then and this summer, she doesn't really see you as inferior anymore," Ryan interjected. His eyes flickered to her new hat for a brief moment and he smiled. "Not that I'd let her pick on my girlfriend, anyway," he added. Kelsi was taken aback by his words, but she smiled. He rose and stepped into the aisle so they stood face to face.

"Discover music, discover me," he whispered, repeating the message she had finally noticed beneath her cupcakes. He slipped his hand behind her neck. Their lips met briefly; Kelsi's eyes fluttered shut. When he pulled away, she wrapped her arms around his waist. He curled his arms around her shoulders and whispered the rest of the message into her beret, but she heard it all the same.

"Discover love, that's all we need."

OK, so maybe Kelsi wasn't really all that mad...

**Thanks for reading! Please Review! Happy holidays!**


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